LONDON, September 1. /TASS/. European countries have lost their independence and are merely following the policy of US President Donald Trump’s administration in regard to the Iranian nuclear program, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei said in an interview with The Guardian.

"The Europeans are doing what Trump dictated to them," he stated. "The Europeans’ role is going to be diminished. If you go back to the European foreign policy leaders in the history of the nuclear deal, Javier Solana, Cathy Ashton, Federica Mogherini, Josep Borrell, they all tried to liaise between Iran and the US," Baghaei added.

He drew particular attention to remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who, commenting on Israeli strikes against Iran in June, said that Israel was doing the "dirty work" for Western countries. "In a way, all of the European countries condoned what Israel did, and very likely provided information to the Israeli regime," the spokesman said.

Baghaei stressed that Iran is ready to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if the UN Security Council reimposes sanctions on Tehran. He also warned Israeli authorities against further attacks on Iran, which, he said, would inevitably trigger retaliation. "We are prepared because this is a matter of our dignity and sovereignty," Baghaei pointed out, comparing the situation to bombardments of the UK during World War II.

"I think you in the UK had your blitz spirit when attacked by Nazi Germany. We have the same spirit because we knew this war imposed on us in the middle of negotiations was so unjust," he said. Baghaei added that the "unlawful attacks" had enraged the Iranian people and led to a decline in trust between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). These circumstances, he noted, have left the Iranian authorities with virtually no room for diplomatic maneuvers.

At the same time, Baghaei said Iran is ready to reduce the purity of enriched uranium to 3.67%, as stipulated in the previous nuclear agreement, provided a comprehensive deal is reached that preserves Iran’s right to enrich uranium domestically. He questioned why the US is so determined to strip Iran of that right if, as Trump assures, Iran’s enrichment capability has already been destroyed by joint US-Israeli strikes.